Seriously, what a d***. I remember a year or two ago the ABC did a piece on Matt Toomua and Dugan as young rising stars. Absolute chalk and cheese. Toomua was actively pursuing a range of interests – and Dugan said he does nothing outside of football, likes to sit around and play Xbox. Says it all…

I used to love Rugby League. But these days it’s primary purpose is to provide the ultimate Petri dish for examining the effects of combining big paychecks, posturing bravado, inflated egos and ample free time with impaired cognition, a lack of responsibility and incremental brain damage.

Interestingly, the Canberra Times are hoping we’re just as outraged as they are about Josh Dugan’s latest act of petulance, yet it seems like only yesterday that they were feeding the same silly little boy’s ego with this abomination of an article:

As for the Raiders management, please wake up. Bring in a “No d###heads” policy and I’ll start buying tickets again. Keep paying these idiots to carry on like this and I’ll keep supporting the Brumbies.

Interestingly, the Canberra Times are hoping we’re just as outraged as they are about Josh Dugan’s latest act of petulance, yet it seems like only yesterday that they were feeding the same silly little boy’s ego with this abomination of an article:

I used to love Rugby League. But these days it’s primary purpose is to provide the ultimate Petri dish for examining the effects of combining big paychecks, posturing bravado, inflated egos and ample free time with impaired cognition, a lack of responsibility and incremental brain damage.

Are we still talking NRL or is there some frightening similarities with local politics?

Well, since he has contractually agreed not to drink during his paid time off for injury recovery, and he posted these charming photos on social media, he’s not exactly innocent, or indeed a brain surgeon.

Can we now start to have a conversation about how employing people straight out of Year 10 or 12, not requiring them to obtain any further education, and making them the face of a such a public organisation is perhaps not the best business model out there?

I used to love Rugby League. But these days it’s primary purpose is to provide the ultimate Petri dish for examining the effects of combining big paychecks, posturing bravado, inflated egos and ample free time with impaired cognition, a lack of responsibility and incremental brain damage.

Interestingly, the Canberra Times are hoping we’re just as outraged as they are about Josh Dugan’s latest act of petulance, yet it seems like only yesterday that they were feeding the same silly little boy’s ego with this abomination of an article:

As for the Raiders management, please wake up. Bring in a “No d###heads” policy and I’ll start buying tickets again. Keep paying these idiots to carry on like this and I’ll keep supporting the Brumbies.

If anything the skill levels and athleticism in Rugby League are at a better level than they have ever been, making for a more exciting and skillful game than it ever has been before. This is why I don’t get it when people say “I used to love league”.

Also, interesting that you’re talking about inflated egos with a username like Figjam. Unless of course you are actually referring to jam made out of figs, and in that case I withdraw my comment.

I used to love Rugby League. But these days it’s primary purpose is to provide the ultimate Petri dish for examining the effects of combining big paychecks, posturing bravado, inflated egos and ample free time with impaired cognition, a lack of responsibility and incremental brain damage.

An amusing yet accurate summary of the modern game. My interest in the NRL has reached an all-time low.

I used to love Rugby League. But these days it’s primary purpose is to provide the ultimate Petri dish for examining the effects of combining big paychecks, posturing bravado, inflated egos and ample free time with impaired cognition, a lack of responsibility and incremental brain damage.

Interestingly, the Canberra Times are hoping we’re just as outraged as they are about Josh Dugan’s latest act of petulance, yet it seems like only yesterday that they were feeding the same silly little boy’s ego with this abomination of an article:

As for the Raiders management, please wake up. Bring in a “No d###heads” policy and I’ll start buying tickets again. Keep paying these idiots to carry on like this and I’ll keep supporting the Brumbies.

If anything the skill levels and athleticism in Rugby League are at a better level than they have ever been, making for a more exciting and skillful game than it ever has been before. This is why I don’t get it when people say “I used to love league”.

Also, interesting that you’re talking about inflated egos with a username like Figjam. Unless of course you are actually referring to jam made out of figs, and in that case I withdraw my comment.

I agree with you about athleticism, not necessarily skill. But that’s a whole different thread. I can’t speak for everyone who says “I used to love league”, but when I said it, I wasn’t talking about what’s happening on the field. I was talking about the way several (not all, not even most) modern NRL players conduct themselves off the field. You may well argue that what they do in their own time is none of my business. You would be absolutely right.

I just find it really hard to care about a team, to wear their jersey, to buy tickets to their games when I know that the players are lazy, petulant, violent, disrespectful, selfish, narcissistic, recalcitrant children whose bad behaviour I would never tolerate in any other setting. Some people care about where their money goes. I do not wish to support these players’ antics, so I stopped buying Raiders tickets.

Sometimes it feels like every time a Steve Menzies, Petro Civinoceva or Alan tongue retires, they’re replaced by a Todd Carney, Jake Friend or Ryan Tandy. I know this isn’t just a rugby league problem, all professional sports have seen standards of player behaviour decline as their incomes rise.

What’s really sad, is that if these are the sort of people my children would be associating with if they played rugby league, I don’t think I should let them play. The vast majority of children never go on to play professional sport. We get them into sport so they can learn about teamwork, commitment, discipline and responsibility. I don’t see any of those qualities in Josh Dugan or Blake Ferguson.

I have to emphasise that I’m only talking about a few Raiders players. There are some very good people at that club who are being badly let down by a few idiots and the management which keeps employing those idiots.

Ps. As for my username, well spotted. It’s a self-deprecating, ironic comment on social media. Something like: “I’m an anonymous nobody, whose opinions mean nothing to anybody, but I’m going to broadcast them to the universe anyway!”

Nothing unusual here. The raiders have always had a group of senior players who know how to behave and a bunch of talented (at rugby league) knuckle draggers. Back in the 90′s do you think Brad Clyde and Mal Meninga would hang out with microcephalics like Brett Mullins and Jason Croker? Imagine having to be Bogan’s, sorry Dugan’s babysitter if he ever makes a Kangaroos tour to England.

Seriously, what a d***. I remember a year or two ago the ABC did a piece on Matt Toomua and Dugan as young rising stars. Absolute chalk and cheese. Toomua was actively pursuing a range of interests – and Dugan said he does nothing outside of football, likes to sit around and play Xbox. Says it all…

Man. The Canberra 100 celebrations were kind of pathetic. Josh Dugan is still the news grabber for the week. Canberra is such a good place to have children and piss around at pissy fireworks displays at ‘the lake’.